title: Immune-priming in ant larvae: social immunity does not undermine individual immunity.
abstract: Social insects deploy numerous strategies against pathogens including behavioural, biochemical and immunological responses. While past research has revealed that adult social insects can generate immunity, few studies have focused on the immune function during an insect's early life stages. We hypothesized that larvae of the black carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus vaccinated with heat-killed Serratia marcescens should be less susceptible to a challenge with an active and otherwise lethal dose of the bacterium. We compared the in vivo benefits of prior vaccination of young larvae relative to naive and ringer injected controls. Regardless of colony of origin, survival parameters of vaccinated individuals following a challenge were significantly higher than those of the other two treatments. Results support the hypothesis that ant larvae exhibit immune-priming. Based on these results, we can infer that brood care by workers does not eliminate the need for individual-level immunological responses. Focusing on these early stages of development within social insect colonies can start addressing the complex dynamics between physiological (individual level) and social (collective) immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, , Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Rebeca B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Rosengaus
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malak
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mackintosh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D007107:Immune System; D032521:Immunity, Herd; D007814:Larva / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D016868:Serratia Infections / Q000276:immunology; D012706:Serratia marcescens; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Camponotus pennsylvanicus; individual versus social immunity; social insects